The present invention relates to a method of knitting in pleats, e.g. forming pleats in the waist or hem region of a knitwear such as a one-piece garment or a skirt, and a knitted texture having knitted pleats.
It is known that each of the pleats, e.g. box pleats arranged in the hem of a one-piece garment or a skirt, is formed by sewing a knitted fragment, which constitutes fold-back sections and an overlap section of the box pleat, into the slit of a surface knitted base, where the box pleat is arranged, and fabricated with the same material as of the fragment.
However, the disadvantage is that as the knitted fragment attached to the slit and the surface knitted base are fabricated separately, the process of knitting is doubled and takes a considerable length of time and also, the sewing of the fragment onto the base requires a cost of labor and time.
More particularly, the assignment of corresponding stitches on the knitted base for matching the fragment with the slit has to be made at high accuracy to prevent the remains of unfastened stitches which may cause loose thread in the knitting. This job demands a sort of skill thus causing a declination in the productivity.
For eliminating the foregoing disadvantage, the applicant of the present invention has previously introduced a method comprising the steps of: knitting surface knitted sections of jersey knit structure, fold-back knitted section of jersey knit structure, and overlap knitted sections of rib knit structure are knitted in succession with the use of arrays of knitting needles mounted on at least a pair of front and rear needle beds, one or both of which are arranged movable leftward and rightward; folding the fold-back knitted section over the back side of the surface knitted section along a boundary line extending between the fold-back section and the surface section; folding the overlap knitted section over the fold-back section along a boundary between the overlap section and the fold-back section so that the surface, fold-back, and overlap knitted sections are overlapped in "Z" form; and binding the uppermost ends of the triple-folded regions in pleats.
In common, the arrangement of pleats on a knitwear, e.g. a one-piece garment or a skirt, is essential for allowing a person who wears the knitwear to have a feeling of a close fit and to move more freely. The aforementioned method proposed by the same applicant provides each pleat arranged at an upper end in the "Z" or triple-folded form. Accordingly, when knitted with the use of a needle bed capable of traveling on a rack a 14-pitch distance at maximum, the pleat will be limited in the size to seven pitches-a half of the 14-pitch distance at each side due to its symmetrical shape.
The drawback thus resides in a fact that pleats larger than that size are hardly feasible allowing only a limited quality of fashionable knitwear to be served.
Also, the triple-folded regions become bulky and extending outward, thus providing a less fashionable appearance.
Furthermore, the upper end of the triple-folded regions provides less flexibility declining functional properties and ensuring less comfortableness in wear.
It is an object of the present invention, in view of the foregoing drawbacks, to provide a method of knitting in pleats, by which knitwears shaped in desired fashions and comfortable to wear can be fabricated without less productivity, and a knitted texture having knitted pleats.